Apple-sizing machine



April 8 1924. 1,489,585 J. J. TIN KLEPAUGH APPLE SIZING MACHINE Filed Oct. 11, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 a f {7% k. T: I 112 C Q G Z l 5 -01 E I 17 gVENTOR ATTORNEY April 8, 1924. 1,489,585

J. J. TINKLEPAUGH APPLE S I Z ING MACHINE Filed Oct. 11, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 '7; F E I 6 INVENTO l MY ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 8, 1924.

UNITED sures PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN J. 'I'INKLEPAUGH, OF LIVINGSTON, NEW YORK.

lAZPPLE-SIZING- uacnmn Application filed October 11, 1928. Serial No. 667,977.

ing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The general dbject of my invention is to provide an improved machine for continuously separating apples of varying sizes into lots or grades with the apples in each such lot or grade of approximately the same size, and difi'erent in size from the apples in the other lots.

The various features of novelty which characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and or 'ng a. part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, advantages possessed by it and specific objects obtained with its use reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention. 1

The apple grading machine illustrated and described herein is generally similar to a machine heretofore devised and successfully used for grading or sizing peaches and oranges, but in the prior machine the rolls corresponding to those herein, marked C and D, were smooth rolls. The use of smooth rolls, while satisfactory in the case of articles like oranges or peaches which are approximately round or ellipsoidal in shape, cannot be effectively employed with apples because of the shape of their ends and particularly of their stem ends. To convert the orange and peach grading machine with its smooth rolls into an apple grader it was first firoposed to simply corrugate the rolls as i ustrated herein, so that the space betweenthe cooperating pair of 45 rolls C and D is divided into a lurality of ockets each having a sort of po y onal outine in plan, such ockets are wel adapted for the purpose grading objects shaped as apples are, but the machine thus formed 50 failed in practical o erationjbecause of the frequent tendency o the apples to pile u over the sizing pockets 8. d to be carri by the conveyor past the discharge chutes intendedfto receive the apples passing be tween the rolls. In attempting to overcome this difliculty and after considering and experimenting with various expedients devised to that end, I discovered that the difliculty was almost entirely due to the lodging of a comparatively small apple immediately above a reduced portion 0 of a roll G, with a consequent arching of a numberof apples over the sizing pocket in front,

and then discovered that such lodgmentcould be prevented by providing the guard finger L which extend into the spaces between the spool portions of the rolls C as illustrated and described, so that no apple large enough to give rise to any archlng effect can come to rest on top of a reduced, roll portion 0 when the apples are initially fed onto the conveyor or subsequently, but

must pass as it should into the sizing pocket ahead. I

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I have illustrated and de-.

scribed the best form of my invention now known to me it will be apparent to those skilledin the art that changes may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims. 7

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation in section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic partial plan of the ap aratus shown in Fig. 1; Flg. 3 is a part1a section on the line 3-3 of Flg. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figs. 2 and 5; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus shown in section in Fig. 4.

.The machine shown in the drawings COHI'.

rises a stationa 'framework A in which 1s mounted a sizing or grading conveyor comprising the rollers C and D and chains B. The shafts C of the rolls 0 are journalled at their ends in corr onding links of the chains B. The ends 0 the shafts C form ivotal su ports for links or swinging arms in whic the ends of the shafts D of the rollers D are journalled, there being a roll D supported in this manner at the rear ofeach roll 0 having reference to the direction of movement of the conveyor which is that indicated by arrows, in Figs. 1 and 2.

The chains B of the conveyor run over suitable sprocket wheels F, F, F and F and a track G is provided for guiding the chains B and thereby the .rolls C in the active portion of the conveyor travel which is from the sprocket wheel F to the sprocket wheel F. Another track composed of sec-. tions H, H, H H is provided for the rolls D in their travel from the sprocket wheels F to the sprocket wheels F The track section H extends between the sprocket wheels F and F and is upwardly inclined and parallel to and alongside the corresponding portion of the track G, so that in this portion of the conveyor path, the axes of the rolls C and D all lie in the same upwardly inclined plane. The track section H is in clined downwardly away from the corresponding portion of the track G so that in the corresponding portion of the conveyor path of travel, the rolls D which rest on the track section H move below the path of travel of the roll D by an amount progressively increasing with the distance from the s rocket wheel F. The track section II a so diverges away from the corresponding portion of the track G from its rear to its forward end, though ordinarily, and as shown, the angular divergence between the track section H and the track G is less than that between the track section H and track G. The track section H is u wardly inclined with reference to the track so that at its forward end the rolls D are brought back into the path of travel of the rolls C as the conveyor pass over the sprocket wheel F As shown, tracks HG and HG are provided for guiding the movement of the conveyor, including the rolls C as well as the rolls D, in the idle portion of the conveyor path from the sprocket wheel F to the sprocket wheel F and from the latter back to the sprocket wheel F. l The rolls C and D are each circumferentially grooved to divide each of them into an axial series of spool ortions each of which comprises a cylindrical body and conical end portions. The adjacent conical ends of adjacent spool portions of each roll Cand D are separated by roll portions 0 and d, respec tively, substantially smaller in diameter than pass any normal sized apple, but which in creases in size as the roll D travels along the track sections H and H and diverges from the path of travel of the corresponding roll C. In consequence an apple originally received and held in one. of these pockets will drop through the pocket when the size of the latter is increased to the required extent. Apples of different sizes are therefore discharged from the sizing pockets at diiferent points in the travel of the roll D along the track sections H and H so that the different chutes K and K K and K, into which the apples discharged from the sizing pockets are carried by the transverse belt conveyors I and J, receive apples of progressively increasing size. In operation the apples to be graded are fed onto the portion of the grading conveyor between the sprocket wheel F and F. Ordinarily a suitable feeding mechanism is providing for putting the apples on the grading conveyor at the proper rate, and in rolls, guard members L as shown are each secured at their ends to a corresponding pair of swinging arms or links E. Each guard member L comprises a body portion the top surface of which is approximately tangential to the body portions of the spool .portions of the rolls 0 and D between which the guard is placed. In accordance with the present invention fingers L are provided at the forward edge of each guard L and extend between the corresponding spool portions of the adjacent roll C each to a point approximately vertically above the corresponding reduced portion 0 of the roll when the latter is moving upward from the sprocket wheel F to the sprocket wheel F, i. e. in the feed receiving portion of the path of travel of grading conveyor.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination with a grading conveyor comprising a series of parallel corrugated rolls extending transversely to the direction of travel of the conveyor and arranged in pairs and means for varying the distance between the adjacent rolls of adjacent pairs of rolls, as the rolls progress in the path of travel of the conveyor, of guards located one between the rolls of each pair and provided with projections extending into the corrugation grooves of one of the rolls of the pair.

2. The combination with a grading conveyora portion of the path of travel of which is upwardly inclined, said conveyor comprising a series of parallel corrugated lies rolls extending transversely to the length of pair and provided with projections extendsaid path and arranged in pairs, and means mg into the corrugation groovesof the leadfor varying the distance between the adjaingroll of the pair. 1

cent rolls of adjacent pairs of rolls, as the Signed at Livingston, in the county of 6 rolls proceed along a portion of said path Columbia and State of New York this 8th following the first mentioned portion, of dayof October A; D. 1923.

guards located one between the rolls of each JOHN J. TINKLEPAUGH. 

